Barca must not rush Messi back from injury, says Rivaldo

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The Brazilian says the club must be careful with the GOAT

Former Barcelona star Rivaldo has told the Spanish champions not to rush Lionel Messi back from injury.

The GOAT made his first La Liga start of the season on Tuesday against Villarreal but was taken off at half-time after picking up another injury.

Barcelona have since confirmed he has suffered a thigh strain, and Rivaldo says the club must be careful to handle their captain’s recovery properly.

“The club need to be careful about not rushing him back. He’s 32-years-old and has been playing at the highest level for a while without any rest, so it’s normal to see him starting to feel some pain at times.

“The club needs to let him fully recover so that he doesn’t suffer a recurrence of his injuries right after returning to the team. It doesn’t matter if he misses two, three weeks or a month. When I was in my early-thirties, I thought I would never get injured, or feel pain, but it wasn’t the truth and those kinds of problems started to come.”

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Barcelona have not confirmed how long Messi will be out for, but he is expected to miss Saturday’s trip to Getafe and is doubtful for the games against Inter Milan and Sevilla.

Manager Ernesto Valverde will hold his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Getafe and we may get a better indication of when Messi may return then.

Source: barcablaugranes.com